1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to surgical instruments, systems, and methods. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to surgical instruments, systems, and methods for sealing tissue structures such as bowel (intestine) tissue or other similar tissue structures.
2. Description of Related Art
Approximately 2.5 million bowel fusion or anastomosis procedures are performed worldwide each year. Fusion and anastomosis of the bowel has traditionally been accomplished using sutures and/or staples.
Energy-based surgical instruments and systems, as an alternative or in addition to suturing and/or stapling, utilize both mechanical clamping action and energy, e.g., radiofrequency (RF) energy, to affect hemostasis by heating tissue to coagulate and/or cauterize tissue. Certain surgical procedures require more than simply coagulating/cauterizing tissue and rely on the unique combination of clamping pressure, precise energy control, and/or gap distance between sealing surfaces to “seal” tissue. Depending on the particular tissue structure to be sealed, the optimal parameters, e.g., clamping pressure, precise energy control, and/or gap distance, may vary.